Lee's New Trainer
by King Hawke
Summary: Lee meets someone in the woods while training and decides to train under him.
1. Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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The veteran warrior hunts in the jungle, as far away from civilization as he could get. He spins a knife in his palm and throws it, impaling a passing rabbit. "Dinner," he grunts with a slight smile. He lifts the dead rabbit up by the ears and heads back to camp.

He trudges through the shrubbery and trees as it gets dark. He frowns and looks around at his dark surroundings, but does not see anything familiar. The muscular man sheathes his knife and walks in the general direction of his temporary camp and supplies. He hears grunting in the distance. He carefully sneaks closer to the sound, his knife drawn. He presses against the nearest tree and peeks out behind it.

"Only eighty kicks left to go!" a boy's voice pants. "If I cannot finish the eighty kicks, I will do one hundred and twenty push ups! If I cannot finish the one hundred and twenty push ups, I will climb trees with my pinky until sunrise!"

He moves closer to the voice and peers through the darkness at a boy dressed in dark green, kicking a thick wooden post. The boy finally collapses from exhaustion and the man decides to reveal himself. He approaches the boy cautiously and looks him over, seeing bandages and stitches covering the boy's arms and hands. "Wow, you really did a number on yourself, didn't you, kid?" he murmurs.

The boy opens his eyes and tries to punch at him. The man easily catches his punch and twists the boy's arm into a submission hold. "Don't try to fight when you are this tired, kid. You'll get yourself killed." The boy stops trying to struggle. "That's better," the man says, "So, what is a kid like you doing out here in a forest like this? It's dangerous."

"I was training!" the boy protests.

The man chuckles with amusement and releases the boy's arm. "Oh, really? What kind of training?"

"I was training to be a better ninja! My youthfulness carries me on even onto the darkest of nights!" the boy shouts, his eyes glowing with a strange fire as his teeth somehow shine in the darkness.

The man shivers slightly and shakes his head, "Do you have a name, boy?"

"Rock Lee! And what is your name, sir?" the boy responds quickly.

The man looks the weary boy over again and shrugs, "I'm Rambo. I'm getting out of here. Be careful out here, Rock. It's dangerous being in the forest alone."

Rock Lee shouts after him, "Sir! If I may be so bold, are you a warrior?"

Rambo seems to think it over and nods slowly, "I guess you could call me that."

"Than may I have the privilege to spar with you tomorrow?" Lee persists.

Rambo chuckles and starts to walk away, "Sure, Rock, if you can find my camp." He walks through the forest, promptly forgetting about the boy. He finds his camp after an hour or two and tosses the rabbit onto a fire spit. He roasts it for an hour and eats it before turning in for the night.

He is awoken early the next morning by shouts of, "Mister Rambo! I am prepared for our spar!" He jumps awake, drawing his knife instinctively and putting it against the boy's throat.

He sighs, "Oh, it's you. You're the Rock kid."

"Rock Lee, sir! Are you ready for our spar yet?" Rock Lee says enthusiastically.

Rambo stretches and drops his knife to the ground. "Fine, you came this far. Might as well see what you can do, ninja boy."

Rock Lee grins and announces, "Thank you, sir! I will not hold back!"

Rambo stands silently and falls into a loose fighting stance. Lee runs at him fast, but Rambo watches his movements and dodges at the last second, kneeing him in the gut, grabbing onto his bowl cut hair and throwing him away. He falls back into the defensive stance. "Come on, Rock. You said you weren't holding back, and I'm not even completely awake yet." He yawns loudly and catches a punch aimed at his mid back. He spins around, twisting Lee's arm in the process and bringing him to his knees. "Ninja or whatever you want to call yourself, no amount of training and kicking compares to real combat experience and instincts. Always follow your instincts." He releases the boy and steps back a few spaces.

Rambo closes his eyes and waits. Lee appears in front of him and punches his stomach, but does not seem to have much affect other than drawing a grunt from the man. He disappears and reappears behind him, kicking at his head, but Rambo catches his foot and throws him back. Lee frowns and runs in faster. Rambo ducks, causing Lee's foot to barely miss his head, brushing against a few of his hairs. He grabs onto the boy's thigh and jabs on the back of his knee hard with two fingers and throws him aside again. Lee falls to the ground without getting back up. "I hit a tendon, kid. You won't be getting back up for a few minutes at least. Take a break for a second and let me give you some pointers."

Lee grimaces with pain but nods quickly. "Good, I like kids who listen. One: you were sloppy. You think speed and power is everything, but it's not. When you move fast, if someone can feel the air being moved right before you appear, you can't hit them. If you can't hit them, than power means nothing. Two: you don't know any weak points on people. You aimed for the head, the back, the chest, which is okay; but you didn't go for anything vital, like the kidneys, the eye, or the knee. The trick with fighting isn't who can punch harder or faster or use a flashier move. The winner is whoever can take down the other first. Got that?" Rock Lee nods quickly again. "Good, now attack me again. Your leg should be fine by now."

Rock Lee tests out his leg and nods. "Begin," Rambo states. Lee rushes in again and disappears again, appearing behind him and punches for his spine. He shifts to the left and catches the blow full in a pack of muscles. He spins around and elbows the boy hard in the face, knocking him back. Rambo frowns and rubs out his badly battered muscles, "Better, kid. You tried to take out my spine. Not bad at all. Point out all my weak points."

Lee tilts his head and shrugs. Rambo sighs, "That's what I was afraid of. Here, let me show you." He points out the solar plexus, the kidneys, the eye, the lower spine, the knees, the ears, the neck, and the Achilles tendon. Rock Lee stares at him in awe. "You're a ninja, right, kid?" The green-clad boy nods again. "What do ninja do?"

"We carry out missions!" Lee exclaims.

Rambo nods, "Like what?"

"We protect people, we do chores, we do all sorts of things," Lee smiles.

Rambo frowns, "Wrong answer. Ninja are paid assassins. That's all they are. Do you work alone or with teams?"

"Teams," Lee says uneasily, not sure where this train of thought is leading.

Rambo sighs, "That's what I thought. When you attack someone, always make sure they are surprised. Sure you protect people, but that involves killing your enemies or making sure they can't fight anymore. You're a warrior. Warriors fight to kill quickly and mercilessly. They don't wait around for the enemy to attack and just try to punch them to death. The longer the fight, the harder it is to win. The harder it is to win, the more likely your teammates or you will die."

Lee frowns and crosses his arms thoughtfully, "So, take out their vital spots and they can't fight?"

"You catch on quickly, kid," Rambo replies.

Lee shouts, "Than will you teach me, sir? The Chunin exams are coming up in a few weeks and my sensei has taught me all he knows. He told me that training on my own would be best for me."

Rambo looks around the camp, back at the boy, thinks about his schedules for the next month or two, and smiles. "Sure, Rock. I'll train you with what I know. I'll even come to watch you fight."

"I prefer to be called Lee, Master Rambo!" Lee announces. "The flames of youth guarantees our success!"

Rambo rubs his temples and grinds out, "If you say one more thing that has to do with flames or youth, I will teach you a new level of pain. And, Lee is sounds like a sissy's name. You're a fighter, you need a more intimidating name. Rock will do."

"Intimidating, sir?" Lee asks, scratching his head.

Rambo sighs, "You're hopeless. Intimidation! Using your presence to scare others into fearing you. People get scared; they don't think well. They don't think well; you win. And call me Rambo or Rambo sir! Just 'sir' isn't me."

"Sorry, Rambo sir!" Lee salutes quickly.

Rambo groans, "Close enough. Now show me what points I showed pointed out to you." Rock Lee points them out, barely misplacing a few of them. He corrects Lee's mistakes and smirks, "I guess there is hope for you yet. Drop down and give me 1,000 push ups. Then we'll spar again." Lee drops down and starts his pushups.

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	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I don't own the Narutoverse or the Ramboverse, which is technically Our universe, but anyways.

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"No, no, no! You're not trying to kill me yet!" Rambo shouts as he dodges Lee's kick and knees him in the crotch. Lee drops to the ground, groaning in pain. "When you can get up again, do 500 chin ups on tree number four in the clearing." Rock Lee struggles to his feet, his hands protecting his damaged vital area. "And what are those things on your legs?"

Lee manages to squeak, "Weights, Rambo sir."

"How much weight?" Rambo frowns thoughtfully.

Lee grabs the tree branch and starts doing his chin ups. He gasps, "About 1,000 pounds per leg, Rambo sir!"

"What about your arms?" Rambo crosses his arms.

Lee does another chin up. "I have weights only on my legs to increase my speed!"

Rambo frowns darkly. "Well, put weights on your back, chest, head, and arms too. Put extra weights on your arms until your legs and arms are equally weighed down."

"But, Rambo sir!" Lee protests as he does three more chin ups.

"No buts, soldier!" states Rambo harshly. "If you only put the weights on your legs, then the rest of your body will be weak and slow while your legs are fast. You need all of you fast and strong. Now get more weight after you finish those chin ups!" Lee quickly finishes his chin ups and sprints into the woods. Rambo checks his equipment and weapons cache while he waits.

A few hours later, Lee returns covered in weights with weird symbols on them. Lee explains, panting from hurrying so much, "The weights get heavier the harder I hit and stay within my muscles' limitations so I don't hurt myself. They get heavier the denser my muscle gets." Rambo tosses him a fully loaded machine gun. Lee catches it and stares at it in confusion. "Rambo sir, what is this?"

"A semiautomatic machine gun. It shoots small projectile weapons at the speed of sound or faster. They can pierce light armor and tear through muscle easily," responds Rambo.

Lee stares at him cluelessly, "A what?"

"You mentioned some flashy element attacks your team can do?" Rambo says with a raised eyebrow. Lee nods. Rambo smirks, "Good. This will put you on the level with them." He lifts the gun from Lee's hands, sets off the safety, and aims at the nearest tree. He fires the gun, the wood splintering badly.

"But, Rambo sir," Lee points out, "Wouldn't that noise give me away on a mission?"

Rambo's smirk grows and he attaches a silencer to the muzzle. He fires again, the sound drastically reduced. "Better?" Lee nods quickly. "Good. You use this, and make new bullets like this—" he holds up a bullet. "—and you'll be good to go. Get the shape, gunpowder and strong metal to put into the casing, and you can make new bullets."

"Isn't this a bit big for me to carry around?" Lee inquires with a hint of worry in his voice. Rambo attaches silencers to two pistols and tosses them to him. He catches them sluggishly and examines them. Lee smiles, "These are much smaller!"

"Glad you noticed, Sherlock," Rambo comments dryly.

Lee tilts his head curiously, "Sherlock?"

The retired soldier shakes his head and turns away, "Don't worry about it, Rock. Start the obstacle course I set up for myself with the barb wire and such. Be careful for traps. Go through it three times, do 300 sit ups, 450 pushups, 200 punches, and 400 kicks. Your weights should help. If you ever get into trouble, drop all of them and you'll kick butt."

"Got it!" Rock Lee exclaims, rushing for the obstacle course.

Rambo frowns and stops him with a hand, "Wait, Rock! One thing I forgot to mention. Ninjas are all about Stealth! Don't make noise! Be as silent as you can be. If people notice you, you're dead. And take off that ridiculous green suit! Put this on." He reaches into a trunk and tosses him a small bundle of camouflage military clothing. "That was my old Vietnam uniform. It'll hide the weights better and you'll blend in easier." Lee changes into them quickly while Rambo leaves to hunt for lunch. He glances over his clothing happily, wearing the green jumpsuit under the weights and camouflage uniform just in case.

Weeks go by and Lee becomes proficient with all sorts of guns from hand guns to bazookas, becomes one of Konoha's finest trap makers and trap detectors, and increases his stealth to a scary level. By the end of the month, the hyperactive Rock Lee has become a serious soldier well trained in guerilla warfare and stealth assassination tactics. When he takes off his uniform, he acts like his old self, but when the uniform goes on, he changes into his military persona. The principle that Rambo drills into him throughout the month is: Never be the first to draw blood, but after blood is drawn, kill them.

Rambo packs up his camp and starts heading towards Konoha with Rock Lee. At the gates, Lee holds out his identification and grins widely, "I am Rock Lee of Konoha, here for the Chunin exams! This is Master Rambo, my instructor." The guards check over the identification and let them through.

Rambo smiles at him, "Go to your team, Rock. Make me proud."

Lee salutes smartly, "Yes, Rambo sir!" He disappears and jumps quickly over the rooftops, barely being able to be seen by any untrained eyes. He hands in his application form and meets his teammates in the room. He joins them, fully clad in military garb, and inquires quietly, "Has your training gone well?" His hair has grown out more, giving him a rougher look. Tenten, Neji, and Gai stare at him in shock. He smiles slightly and shrugs, "Is something wrong, Master Gai?" Tenten's eyes sparkle as she looks at her newly returned teammate's new appearance.

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Read and Review! I don't like Stallone the actor either, but I like the Character of Rambo, so bear with me.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

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Tenten's eyes slowly train over her teammate. She thinks to herself, '_When did Lee get so good looking?_' Neji nods neutrally. "Welcome back, Rock Lee. Are you prepared for the exams?"

"I am," Rock Lee confirms.

Might Gai shouts, "Good! My adorable student will show those other ninja who is the strongest there—" He is cut off when Lee covers his mouth.

"With all due respect, Master Gai," he says darkly. "If you continue that statement, you will give away the element of surprise in this exam. We will see each other after the exams are over."

When Lee removes his hand, Gai shouts with tears flowing down his cheeks, "My Lee is growing up so quickly! In one month, he has matured beyond his years!" Neji sighs and Tenten rolls her eyes at his drama and are relieved when he finally leaves.

"Where did you get the new outfit?" Tenten inquires.

Lee smiles slightly, "From a friend. Did that genjutsu downstairs throw you off at all?" His teammates smirk and shake their heads.

A silver-haired young man approaches them from his group. He pushes his glasses up on his nose and inquires, "Hi, I'm Kabuto. This is your first time taking the Chunin Exams, right?" At their nods, he continues, "Well, you're doing well on not attracting attention to yourself for newbies. As a reward, I'll give you information on any ninja you want." He pulls out his deck of ninja info cards.

Neji opens his mouth to inquire about Sasuke Uchiha, but Lee cuts him off, "I would like to see a card on you." Kabuto raises an eyebrow curiously but activates the card.

"The card says I am average at everything. It shows that I am good at healing ninjutsu and my endurance level is not very high," Kabuto reads.

Lee thinks harshly, '_He is speaking too calmly for that to be true. No ninja would put his real information on a card and voluntarily show it to others. He's hiding his true abilities. I'll have to keep an eye on this guy._' Rock Lee smiles pleasantly, "Thank you, Kabuto."

Neji frowns and gets information on Sasuke Uchiha. Tenten asks for information on Rock Lee. The card shows that he specializes in taijutsu, his mission record, and his teacher Might Guy, but no new information about what happened since she last saw him. She thanks him and Kabuto moves to the gathering pack of Konoha Genin who arrived. He shows them his cards and a sound ninja shatters his glasses. Lee takes care to keep his team away from the ones drawing attention to themselves, namely Naruto and Sakura.

Ibiki arrives in a cloud of smoke along with the other examiners and yells, "I am Ibiki Morino and I will be your proctor for the first section of the exams. There will be no fighting until the second exam. Anyone who fights without my permission will be thrown out of the Chunin Exams! Am I making myself clear, Sound ninja?"

"Sorry," grinds the mummified boy while holding his metal-clad arm. "This is our first Chunin Exam and we are a little nervous."

"Yeah right," grunts Ibiki, sending out a small dose of killer intent. The sound ninja seem unaffected by it and everyone takes their seats. He explains the rules and the written test begins. Tenten pins some mirrors to the ceiling with kunai and directs them with ninja wires. Neji uses his Byakugan, but Rock Lee smiles appreciatively and uses the mirrors to get the answers. He notices an advanced question about angles and how a kunai would hit. He thinks back to his training and figures out the angle without a problem. The team is finished before the time is up.

When the time is up, Ibiki explains the rule for the final question. Naruto shouts, "No way! I'm going to be Hokage, and that means I'm willing to take a risk!" Ibiki frowns darkly and looks around the room for anyone else to quit. Everyone else seems to be inspired by the knucklehead, so Ibiki passes them. Anko Mitarashi crashes through the window a few seconds later with a huge banner saying: "Sexy and Single Anko Mitarashi!" appearing behind her.

"You're early, again," states Ibiki with a frown.

Anko grins, "Ah, you'll get over it. You left way too many this year! You must be getting soft!" She ignores his answer and yells, "Follow me to your next training ground! Those that don't show up in the next fifteen minutes are disqualified!" She hops out the window and the Genin follow. Rock Lee exchanges glances with his teammates and they go with the bulk of the group instead of running ahead.

Rock checks his belt for his ninja tools and pistols. "What are those?" Tenten asks, pointing to the twin bulges on both sides on his hips.

He pats the gun holsters and smiles, "Hopefully nothing I will have to use." She becomes more curious but decides to trust his judgment. Neji uses his Byakugan to examine the weapons, but cannot identify it as anything he has ever seen before. He shrugs it off and they arrive at the next training area. They approach a tall fence with a large sign on it that says: Forest of Death.

Anko explains the rules, has the forms signed, the scrolls handed out, and scares Naruto before having her kunai returned to her by the grass ninja. Rock Lee meets the grass ninja's gaze momentarily. He frowns and instinctively reaches for his weapons. "Lee, what's wrong?" Neji whispers.

Lee shivers and forces himself to relax. "That grass ninja…her eyes are pure evil. They are like nothing I have ever seen before."

Tenten pats his shoulder, "It's going to be okay. We'll just avoid that one. Okay?" Lee shakes his head to clear his thoughts, smiles, and nods in agreement. He silently prays that he never has to meet that grass ninja again.

Every team stands at their starting gates. The gates open and Rock Lee takes command of the squad while they take to the trees, "Let's take our time. No need to waste our energy when we're just going to hunt down another team anyways."

Neji frowns, "Since when have you been so tactically minded, Lee?"

"Call me Rock," Lee replies firmly. "I've been tactically minded since I went into the forest to train. Neji, find a team. Tenten, take inventory of everything we have so we know what we can use. I'll scout ahead for trouble. Yell if you are in trouble and need my help." Neji nods slowly and activates his Byakugan as they jump from branch to branch. Tenten makes a mental list of all of their weapons, excluding Lee's secret weapon.

Tenten whispers to him, "We have three hundred shuriken, seventy kunai, seven spools of ninja wire, the ten scrolls that hold most of them, and rations for one day. We can spread that out to two days, and we can find food from bushes and the stream that runs through here."

"Good," Lee answers quietly. "Neji, did you find a team yet?"

Neji replies calmly, "There is a team from the Rain village forty meters to the east of our location. We should hunt them down."

"Leave that to me," Lee grins. He disappears before they can blink.

Tenten frowns in confusion, "Neji, where did he go?"

"He's running ahead of them. I think we should see what he is planning. If it does not work out, I will take control of the team. He's a lot faster than I remember."

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	4. Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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The Rain ninja breathe heavily through their air filters and hop through the trees in hopes of catching sight of another team. "Where are all of the other teams?" one of them grunts with frustration. "There are too many of them for us to not be able to find even one!"

The next thing the boy knows, he is in the afterlife with a snapped neck. Lee releases his arm from around the body's throat and glares at the other two ninja. "You killed him! Who are you? We'll give you—" the second ninja says as he starts to back away. He is interrupted by a blow to the face, which causes his skull to shatter into a million pieces.

The second boy starts to run through hand signs when suddenly the strange attacker appears in front of him and crushes the boy's wrists. He has time to gasp in pain before Lee stabs him through the heart with a kunai he stole while killing the first boy. He lets the body drop and starts searching the bodies for the scroll.

Lee's teammates show up in surrounding trees a few seconds lafter. Tenten gasps, "Did you kill them?"

"Yes," Lee states without looking up from his searching. Finding what he was looking for, he tosses the scroll to Neji and relieves the corpses of their shuriken and kunai.

Neji raises an eyebrow, looking a little paler than usual. "It was not necessary to kill them, Rock." Tenten leans against the tree she is on and vomits at the sight of the ninja's crushed head.

The camoflauge clad ninja sighs and pockets the extra weapons. "They would have killed us if they had the opportunity. The only sure way to make sure that they don't threaten us later is for them to be dead. Not only that, but if we left them here without a scroll or unconscious, others would kill them. The life of a ninja is full of bloodshed. It's kill or be killed."

The Hyuga nods understandingly while their teammate still looks a bit green in the face. He pockets the scroll and states, "Let's get away from here and take a break to calm our nerves."

"I should go find some rations for us," Lee volunteers. Neji nods and helps Tenten out of sight of the bodies. The taijutsu master disappears into the forest.

**A Few Minutes Later: **

Lee hears a few voices arguing with each other. He stealthily moves closer until he comes upon a clearing where Sakura is telling the Sound ninja to stay away from Sasuke. The young man frowns when he sees the Uchiha lying on the ground asleep along with Naruto but he waits to watch what will happen.

The mummy-like ninja shatters a log that a trap sets off and the sound kunoichi catches Sakura by the hair. Lee decides that he has seen enough and disappears. He reappears in front of Dosu and states, "Leave."

The other ninja grins at the Leaf ninja's apparent stupidity and raises his arm to use his Melody Gauntlet. Lee smirks, causing the sound ninja to look down at his arm which is missing the gauntlet. "Looking for this?" Lee inquires and holds up the gauntlet. Before the ninja can answer, Lee crushes the gauntlet between his hands and kicks the boy into a tree. He runs forward and slams a kunai into Dosu's forehead and than spins on his heels and throws the bloody kunai at Kin.

She jumps out of the way and throws her sebon at him, which miss him and land into the tree behind him. He starts to see double and closes his eyes. He focuses on the sebon and nails them into the tree with a powerful back kick. He rushes forward and stops just short of her. He whispers, "I don't like killing women." Lee drops to the ground while performing a leg sweep. She starts to fall and he quickly regains his footing and slams her head into the ground. He checks her pulse and smiles, "She's unconscious and will be for awhile."

Sakura stares at him in awe. He catches her eyes with his and she whispers, "Lee?"

"That's me," he smiles amiably. "Don't worry. I'm not here to take your scroll. I'm just looking for some food."

Zaku snarls as he aims his arms at Lee. "I'll kill you, you jerk!" Lee frowns darkly and darts forward, dodging the sound blasts and easily snapping the boy's arms in half. He twirls a kunai and shoves it back handed into the boy's kidney and then heart. He kicks the dead ninja into the trees.

Lee turns back to Sakura when he sees Sasuke slowly standing up behind her with purple chakra flaming up around him. Black marks spread across his body. Lee senses the killer intent leaking off the Uchiha and drops into a defensive stance. "You're strong," Sasuke growls. "I'm going to test my strength against you!"

"If I fight you, Sasuke Uchiha, you will not come out unscathed," Lee warns as he draws two kunai from his belt and holds them defensively. Sasuke seems to disappear but Lee ducks under his punch and jumps straight up. His knee smacks the Uchiha's jaw with an audible smack and he does a spin kick in midair to knock him back.

Sasuke roars with fury and charges at him with incredible speed and strength behind his blows. Lee does a back hand stand away from Sasuke and stares at him. "You are getting me upset, Uchiha. Stop this while you can."

Sasuke spits, "This is not over yet! An Uchiha can't lose to a nobody like you!" Lee disappears and reappears behind Sasuke. He chops a pressure point on the dark haired boy's neck as softly as he can. His blow lands directly on the curse mark. Sasuke drops to the ground writhing in agony before Sakura hugs him and holds him still until the marks recede.

Lee glares down at Sasuke and murmurs, "Just remember, Uchiha, you were just humiliated by a nobody. Next time you attack me, I will end you, Konoha ninja or not." He picks up the sound kunoichi and dashes into the forest, leaving Sakura holding a weary and unconscious Sasuke in her arms. He punches a tree hard and shatters it. Lee smirks slightly at his strength and finds some berries to bring back to his teammates.

Twenty minutes later, he rejoins his teammates with a stuffed bag full of berries and an unconscious girl on his back. Tenten says how sweet Lee is while Neji frowns at the extra companion. Lee ties her hands and feet and tosses her over his shoulder. They continue their journey.

**A Few Hours Later: **

Team Guy runs through the forest swiftly, passing the other ninja with ease. "It's a two day's journey to the tower," Neji explains. "There will undoubtedly be other ninja lying in wait for whoever reaches the tower."

"They won't know what hit them," Tenten says with a faint smile. Despite her immediate disgust with what Lee did, the logical part of her slowly took back control so that she understood that it was necessary, but still unpleasant.

They swallow the last of their berries and take a sip of their canteens as they travel. Lee says quietly, "If anyone gets tired, I can carry you. The longer we stay in the forest, the more danger we are in." Neji nods in agreement and continues to have his Byakugan blazing so that they can avoid any more teams.

Kin awakens and starts to struggle. Feeling her breathing deeply to get ready to scream, Lee motions for the team to stop and he puts her down in front of him. He whispers, "Your teammates are dead and you are coming with us to the tower in the middle of the forest. If you try to resist, we will either kill you or release you. If we release you, the other teams will victimize you. Do you want to stay with us?" She lets out her deep breath and nods shakily.

"But…we failed to kill the Uchiha! Lord Orochimaru is going to kill me for failing him!" she whimpers.

Neji says as calmly as he can, "Orochimaru of the Sannin is here in the Leaf Village?" She nods quickly.

Lee softly holds her still so that she does not fall off the branch and whispers, "You are under my protection. Nobody will harm you. After this exam, we'll put you into protective custody."

Pushing Lee aside, Neji states coldly, "Why is Orochimaru here?"

"If I tell you, he'll kill me!" she says shakily.

Lee smiles at her pleasantly, "If you don't tell us, you'll die anyways." He allows a small amount of killer intent to leak out.

She shivers and replies quickly, "Okay! I'll tell you if you don't kill me!"

The team exchanges glances and nod. Tenten answers her, "We won't kill you if you tell us." Kin breaks down and tells them about the plans for Sand and Sound to invade Konoha during the Chunin Exams during one of the final battles of the exam. Lee thanks her for the information and gags her.

"We can't have you breaking our cover while we travel," he explains when her eyes go wide with fear. He lifts her back up and says quietly, "Don't worry. You're in the hands of the Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village." He gives her a thumbs up and they start leaping through the forest again.

Tenten sighs with a smile and thinks, _'No matter how much he has changed, he's still Lee at heart.' _After a day of traveling, taking turns watching over their prisoner and Lee setting up a few traps, they take a rest for the night. The next morning, they find three teams stuck in their traps, dead. They take the scrolls, loot the bodies of weapons, and continue on their way.

They reach the tower by noon and open the scrolls together which summons Gai Sensei. On the opposite side of the tower are the Sand Siblings and Baki. Lee feels a strange chill run down his spine as he thinks about the next section of the Exams.

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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**Four Days Later: **

Anko looks over the lined up group of Genin and two people seem to stand out. The Uchiha that has the curse mark throbbing on his neck catches her attention right away, but the other boy is someone she has seen around the village usually clad in bright green with a bowl cut. Instead of shouting about flames of youth, giving off strange sunset genjutsu, and giving people thumbs up, the boy has a rough looking hair cut, some sort of military uniform that blends in with the forest, and strange shaped pouches are hanging on his belt. He stands there quietly with a smile on his face.

The Hokage next to her is giving announcements about the true purpose of the Chunin Exams and a brief description of the Will of Fire. She waits impatiently for her coworker Genma to begin the exams. She raises her eyebrow in surprise at how many people survived the exams so far. What surprises her further is when the announcements end and the son of a well known doctor raises his hand to drop out, but a glance from his sensei immediately makes him drop it. Anko stares for a long moment at the odd expression on Kabuto's face before going back to observing the potential Chunin.

She taps her foot impatiently but holds her tongue until the loud mouthed brat in orange starts making noise, which she is all too happy to quickly silence with a harsh shout about showing respect to the Hokage. Finally, the matches are picked and she is allowed to retreat to the Hokage box with the old man. She scans the crowd but somebody stands out.

In the center of the crowd, a large meaty man sits with odd looking clothes and a sweatband holding his dark hair off of his forehead, popping food into his mouth and watching the arena with focused eyes. The other spectators give him a wide berth. The man has the presence of a hunter that makes the civilians nervous.

The first match is Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado. It seems that Akado is about to win when Sasuke cannot use jutsu due to his curse mark, but he ends up using taijutsu he copied while sparring other teams in the Forest of Death. He promptly disappears courtesy of his sensei Kakashi.

The second match is Shino Aburame vs. Choji. The meaty boy turns into a giant boulder and rolls all over the stadium, but is easily avoided by Shino. Several minutes into the match, Choji collapses in a heap with bugs all over his neck, legs, and arms where the holes were made for the rolling about. Shino recalls his insects, muttering that Choji was an interesting opponent but who needed to work on protecting his weak spots.

The third match is Kankuro vs. Misumi Tsurigi. Tsurigi traps "Kankuro" with stretching techniques, but Kankuro reveals that the main body is actually a decoy puppet that ends up breaking all of the boy's bones.

The fourth match is Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka. Rambo decided to go to the concession stands and buy some food while the catfight went on and ended with a tie.

The fifth match is Tenten vs. Temari. Tenten draws out her weapons, but Temari mocks her and throws back the hail of pointy objects back at the weapons specialist. Rambo and Rock Lee watch with particular interest at the lack of genjutsu and ninjutsu being used by bun-haired girl. Sadly, a veteran like Rambo can see how the match is going to end. Lee cheers on his teammate, only for her to be knocked down by Temari. She lands hard on the back of Temari's fan. Rock Lee frowns furiously and leaps down.

"That is no way to treat someone who has given their best!" Rock Lee angrily shouts.

Temari raises an eyebrow and looks him over. '_He's not bad looking at all, if not for the plan,_' the blonde haired kunoichi finds herself thinking. She clears her throat and replies coldly, "If that was her best, she should give up trying to be a shinobi. That was pathetic."

The camouflage-clad ninja takes one step forward but Guy appears in front of him with his arm outstretched, blocking his way. "Lee, if you wish to participate in the exams, I suggest you get into the stands and wait your turn. You'll deal with this unyouthful young woman soon enough. Tenten will recover just fine." Lee glares at the sand ninja before jumping back into the stands with his teacher.

Rambo nods approvingly to his decision to wait while Temari sighs. '_I guess I don't get him anyways. Oh well. He is cute though. Maybe dad will let me have him after the invasion. I'm sure I can find a good reason for him to live._' She leisurely walks back up into the stands.

The sixth match is Shikimaru vs. Kabuto.

Naruto's supportive slap on the back gives the lazy Genin just the _shove_ he needs to land on the hard ground below. Kabuto walks down the stairs to meet his opponent. He flips out a ninja card on Shikimaru and reads it. Once they are finally face to face, the young medic offers, "I know you don't like to exert much effort, Nara, so I'll give you the chance to give up now." Shikimaru appears to be considering it before shaking his head slowly.

"Sorry," he replies lazily. "I really want to quit, but it'll make Choji mad if I just gave up when he had to fight Shino." He pulls a kunai out of his holster and twirls it around before tossing it.

Kabuto easily deflects it with a surgical scalpel. Darting quickly forward, the silver haired medic dodges another kunai and jabs at Shikimaru's right armpit. The scalpel stops a few centimeters short of his skin. Kabuto looks down to see his shadow connecting with the boy's. "I didn't think I gave you time to form the hand signs," he admits.

"Neither did I," Shikimaru pants with his hands tightly together. He slowly takes a step back and makes Kabuto drop the scalpel. They walk towards the tree in the arena. When Kabuto is face to face with the tree, Shikimaru inquires, "Give up?" The young medic looks amused.

Kabuto replies, "You must be almost out of chakra by now. Just long enough to knock me out against the tree, I'm guessing."

"And?" Shikimaru asks bluntly.

"Nothing," Kabuto smirks. "I was just buying some time for your chakra to grow even weaker. Unlike you, I haven't expended very much chakra yet." His hands glow with chakra and he sends a surge of chakra into the shadow, causing it to retract. Shikimaru staggers back at the sudden pulse of energy. Before he can blink, Kabuto is at his side with another glowing scalpel. He grabs Shikimaru's ponytail and holds the small blade to the boy's throat.

Kabuto glances up at his sensei, but the man shakes his head slightly. Biting down, he releases Shikimaru and has a coughing fit. He drops to his knees and breathes heavily. "I give up." His skin pales almost to Genma's sickly appearance. The proctor calls the match, giving the win to Shikimaru Nara.

The medic ninja wanders from the field into the stairs under the stairs. He stabs his leg with an antidote and starts to breathe easier. Back on the field, Shikimaru takes the opposite stairs, wondering what he did to deserve to win. He had thought for sure he was finished! The crowd goes wild over the short but unexpected win of the Nara boy. Asuma frowns slightly but smiles when his student arrives, patting him on the back for the effort. Shikimaru just grumbles about how troublesome the next match is going to be.

The seventh match is between Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka.

The boys and the puppy started with taijutsu fighting, leading to both Akamaru and Kiba turning into human forms. Naruto accidentally farts in Kiba's face. After they fight for a bit longer and a smoke bomb is dropped, Kiba is tricked into accidentally knocking out his own puppy. The knuckle-headed orange target at that point uses the Naruto-Uzumaki-Barrage to finish him off.

The next match is between Neji Hyuga and his cousin Hinata Hyuga. Neji has his opening speech that Naruto interrupts. The fight goes on for awhile, until finally Neji puts Hinata down for the count with a blow to the chest. The medics carry her away while both Naruto and Lee glare dangerously at the boy. When Neji gets back to the stands, Lee states coldly, "That was too harsh, Neji. That was very unyouthful and cruel of you. Apologize to her."

Neji raises an eyebrow. "Or what, Lee? Are you going to make me?" Guy steps forward to interrupt when Lee holds up a hand for him to not interfere.

Lee stares back into Neji's pale eyes. "Or I will have no mercy on you the next time we fight. Then, after I beat you to a pulp, I will drag you to your cousin's bedside and force you to apologize." Neji scoffs, reminding him of their previous spars.

The new look in Rock Lee's eyes makes him nervous. Such overwhelming confidence and ferocity should not exist in such cheerful eyes. What exactly did Lee learn in the forest? After a brief stare down, Neji says that he will consider it. Guy wisely advises that Neji go to the barracks to get patched up. The green-clad Jonin eyes his favorite student uneasily but feels somewhat relieved when Lee gives him a thumbs up and smile afterwards.

The final match is between Rock Lee and Gaara. Rambo rises to his feet and cheers for his student in English and Japanese alternately, causing Lee to beam proudly. Gaara pulverizes gambler-hired thugs on the way to the arena while Lee hops straight down.

The Genin gaze intently at each other in the arena. "Mother wants your blood," Gaara intones.

Lee smiles slightly and replies, "She'll have to settle for yours. I hope this will be a youthful spar. Do your best." Gaara tilts his head at the strange Konoha ninja. The proctor begins the match.

Immediately, sand rockets from the gourd and rushes towards Lee. He back flips several times to avoid the sand and runs along the wall before rushing in and punching at him. The sand barely blocks the blow, though it scatters on impact from the force of it. He follows up with a kick that the sand once again barely blocks. Lee jumps back and keeps fighting with the sand until finally jumping high onto the stone hands.

"Do it, Lee!" shouts Guy-sensei.

Lee yells back, "But, Sensei, you told me to only do it when protecting someone I care about!"

"I am making an exception! Take him out!" Guy grins enthusiastically. Lee glances at Rambo, who nods once. Lee unwraps his leg weights and drops them, causing large craters to appear. To Guy's surprise, the Genin continues to unwrap weights from under his shirt and sleeves, dropping them to make equally large craters. Instead of rushing forward to attack as Gaara expects, Lee hops down to his weights and picks them up. He slings them over his shoulder and starts walking towards his opponent at a leisurely pace.

Guy scratches his head, "What is Lee doing?" Rambo simply smiles. Anko becomes more alert when the strange man smiles. She watches the match more intently.

Lee lifts his leg weights in one hand and seems to be weighing them. He pulls his arm back and launches the weights at Gaara like a pitcher in a baseball league. He follows up with throwing his arm and chest weights, each one making minor shockwaves when the sand blocks them. While the sand is preoccupied with blocking the weights, Rock Lee dashes past it and smashes Gaara in the face, causing him to bounce back several times and collide with the wall. Temari and Kankuro look very nervous at this development, though the blonde kunoichi's opinion of Lee keeps rising higher.

"He's so dead," Kankuro chuckles.

Temari smiles secretively and thinks, 'He might survive.'

Lee seems to instantly reappear in front of Gaara and start pummeling him. The sand tries to hurry back to its master, but the velocity of the weights made the sand take longer just stopping it, let alone releasing it safely. Gaara spits up blood as his sand armor becomes dust under the Konoha Genin's fists. Lee does a back flip over retreating sand and announces, "I give you the option of giving up. You are a worthy opponent!" Gaara pulls himself from the wall with a crazed grin on his face and blood dripping from his chin.

"Mother will have your blood now!" the redhead roars. The sand forms a giant hand and slams down towards Lee. He and one of the weights disappear from the ground and reappear behind Gaara. He swings the weight like a baseball bat, sending Gaara flying through the air despite the sand trying to grab onto the weight.

Temari frowns and looks up at Baki. "If he changes now, everything is ruined!"

Baki scowls back, "I know. We'll just have to pray that Gaara defeats this boy before he wants to transform. Our forces aren't ready yet." Kankuro goes back next to Baki just in case.

Gaara rises from the ground and yells in fury, the sand instinctively rushing towards Lee. Rock Lee sheds his jacket and tosses it up to Rambo to catch. His toned muscles almost make Temari drool while he strikes a defensive stance. "You should give up, Gaara. I won't keep holding back if you continue." Gaara laughs manically, nursing a broken rib and blood flowing from a head wound. He sends a full scale sand wave at Lee, giving him no visible way of escape. Lee tilts his head and thinks briefly before rushing towards his weights once more and picking up the pile of them. As he runs, he straps them back onto his body.

Rambo smiles while Guy looks at him with bug-eyes. "What are you doing, Lee?! He'll catch you with those on!"

Rock Lee ignores him and keeps the leg weights off, holding them over the back of his hands like shields. He hops up onto the stone hands again and watches the incoming wall of sand. Mentally counting down from three to one, Lee dashes forward as fast as he can. He slams the leg weights together next to the sand, creating a minor shockwave again. He then kicks the weights through the wave, leaving a gap. He jumps through the gap. The sand wraps around his arms when he leaps through feet first, but he slips out of the sand by leaving the arm weights behind. He hops back a few feet towards Gaara, still facing the sand. The sand shoots a spear of itself at his chest, but his chest weight takes the brunt of the impact. He quickly discards the final weight and runs toward Gaara like the devil is chasing him.

Gaara's eyes widen as Lee becomes almost too fast to track. Sand starts to form an odd looking ear and covering Gaara's left arm while his left eye gets larger and becomes dark with a star-shaped pupil. His sand arm swings at Lee wildly. He does a front flip over the arm and performs a flawless Dynamic Entry to Gaara's face. The kick makes a Gaara-shaped crater in the wall.

"You might want to call the match, proctor," Lee warns. "I don't think he can take much more of this." The sand rushes into the hole and seals it up. Baki pales while Kankuro and Temari start looking for an exit. Baki grabs onto their shoulders firmly.

Their instructor states, "If you run, others will know something is wrong. Wait."

A loud laugh erupts from the wall. Its sinister cackle echoes throughout the stadium. A cry of: "I will still give you his blood! Give me some time! I'll make mother proud!" follows. The Hokage rises from his seat to watch more closely. Orochimaru smiles through his disguise as Kabuto's sensei.

"Kabuto, what do you think?"

"I think we should leave now, sensei," Kabuto warns. "He might be changing."

Orochimaru slowly nods. "That sounds prudent, but I desire to finish watching. You may leave for now." Kabuto nods gratefully and slips away unnoticed.

Lee watches the wall intently as a third eye of sand takes form in the air behind him. "Rock!" shouts Rambo. "Take out the eye!" Lee looks up to see it and disperses it with a single kick. The wall opens slowly to reveal a visibly sand-covered Gaara, despite his eyes being large and odd-looking. A raccoon-like tail sways back and forth from his backside while slightly larger paws cover his arms. The only visible part of skin that looks anything like Gaara is his face between his chin and his eyes.

"You will die. Now," Gaara intones. "Mother shall have every last drop of your blood." He lunges for the Genin, but Lee dodges the claws. He runs closer, dodging every spike of sand that threatens to hit him. Lee gets close enough to see Gaara's eyes and undoes his two side pockets. He tosses a kunai at his foot, but the sand easily blocks it. He uses the handle of the kunai sticking out of the sand as a foothold to leap high into the air. In midair, he draws his two pistols and lands just outside of the range of Gaara's tail, he thinks. The tail extends as the arms shrink, knocking Lee hard into the wall.

Lee grimaces and holds up his pistols as the creature slowly turns around to face him. Using the wall as a springboard, he flies at Gaara. He does another front flip over a claw and lands directly in front of Gaara. He sticks one pistol in Gaara's mouth and the other under his chin. "Give up." Gaara merely snarls. "Sorry then," Lee frowns. He pulls the triggers. Every particle of sand drops to the ground instantly, followed shortly by Gaara's body. Lee frowns deeply, his hands shaking. He holsters his guns silently.

"You should have given up," he whispers. Guilt pounds on his heart while the proctor calls the match in Lee's favor. Baki stares in shock at the corpse while Kankuro and Temari look like they are about to have nervous breakdowns. A tear rolls down Temari's cheek. Lee looks up at her and mouths, "I'm sorry." She nods and sniffs. Orochimaru's eyes narrow dangerously at the fallen Jinchuriki.

"This changes things," he hisses before shushining away.

Lee finally gets up to where Guy is. "It's okay, Lee. He didn't give you any choice," Guy consoles. Lee sniffs and finally breaks down crying on his sensei's chest. Guy picks him up and shushins away. Rambo leaves the stands to go find his student.

The Hokage sighs wearily, "I hope the Kazekage takes the death of his son well. Death of shinobi are always unfortunate." Anko just sits in stunned silence at the skill shown by Rock Lee.

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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**At Team Guy's Training Ground: **

The camouflage youth sits at the base of a stump and cries quietly. Guy sits next to him and rubs his back. "It's okay, Lee. I am very glad that my precious student is safe from that maniac."

After nearly half an hour, Lee looks up into his teacher's eyes and whispers harshly, "You didn't see his eyes. They were so cold and lonely. I pulled the trigger…than I only saw pain and loss. I ended his life, whatever he was. His face will haunt me forever." He looks down and wipes away his tears with his sleeve.

"Lee," Guy begins carefully. "I have killed before too. I remember their faces to this day. They helped me become stronger and fought youthfully. You also killed in the Forest of Death. Neji told me about it."

"I didn't have to look at their faces," Lee answers, getting louder. "Those were random people in the jungle! They were just masks and headbands! This was a person! A flesh and blood human being who I saw the flames of life in…and extinguished it like a soft flame in a hurricane. What right did I have?" He stands up and glares down at his teacher. "What right do we ninjas have to kill other human beings?"

"The right to live," a voice calls out. Rock turns to see Rambo walking down the beaten path to the training ground. "The right to protect those you care about. You have the right to kill when you have the right to protect others. Salute!" Rock Lee immediately snaps to a salute and holds the position. Guy jumps to his feet angrily.

"Listen here, Mister! I don't know who you are, but my student—" he begins.

"Hold these for me, Greenbean," Rambo interrupts nonchalantly, tossing the armful of weights at him. The taijutsu master catches all of Lee's weights and raises an eyebrow at how heavy they are.

The veteran warrior approaches his young student and returns the gesture with a crisp salute. "You killed that boy," Rambo states, watching Lee's eyes. "If you had to do it all over again, would you still have done it?" Rock Lee shrugs and looks down. The teacher grabs his chin and forces him to look up at him. "Yes or no."

"Well, if I didn't, he would have killed me. If he killed me, he probably would have gone after my team next who would come to my rescue and my teachers. He would kill them too. I think…yes, I would kill him again if I needed to."

"Good," Rambo sighs, releasing his chin. "It's not about who you are fighting or what with. It's why you are fighting and who you are trying to protect. Showing off your new toys wasn't the brightest thing, but it helped you survive against that Sandman. The big ninja leader said that the next exams are in a month. You've had a very long day. Greenbean, take the kid home to rest. He's done enough today." Rock turns to Guy-sensei, but a solid chop to the neck greets him from behind. Rambo catches him by the shoulders and hands him to the other man. "Make sure he rests."

"I will," Guy sighs, flinging his student over his shoulder and holding the weights under his other arm. "But I want to know who you are. Now." The brief staring contest between the two nearly breaks out into a battle, had Rambo not spoken.

Rambo says slowly, "I'm just an old man who saw a boy struggling in a jungle, trying to make his teacher proud. Take him home, or to the hospital if that's what it takes to keep him still. We will talk later." He turns and walks away. Guy wants to go after him, but his student takes top priority. After thinking for a moment about the other Sand ninjas in the village, he takes him to the hospital to sleep safely.

**Late that Night: **

The shaggy-haired youth lies in bed and watches the stars out the window. At Guy's insistence, Lee's unusual weapons are lying on the nightstand next to him. Since the nurses could not identify the weapons, they were left as decoration. Around the holstered weapons are the Get Well Cards from his teammates.

A shadow crosses his bed, causing him to roll out of the covers and throw them up behind him. He unholsters a pistol and points it at the window. The blankets are blown back at him by a strong gust of wind. He quickly sprints forward, grabbing the bottom of the blanket and yanking it straight up. He comes face to face with the wrong end of a very pointy sword. Baki enters the room. Lee backs up with his pistol trained on the large man's heart. "Doors were made for a reason, sir," the young ninja states, trying not to let any fear creep into his voice.

"I am not here to talk to you about killing Gaara. My village actually extends their thanks for ridding us of him," Baki explains with his sword still side by side with the gun.

Lee grunts, "What are you here for then?"

"Me," a voice says from behind Lee. He glances over his shoulder to see the door open and Temari standing their in a light desert robe and her thick hair in a single ponytail. "I wanted to talk to you."

Lee checks his ready to throw fist and relaxes it to a handshake. "Rock Lee," he says politely, his gun still leveled at Baki. Temari shakes his hand awkwardly.

"I know who you are, Rock Lee. I make it a point to know the name of the man who killed my baby brother," she replies. He looks her over briefly and notices that she is unarmed. "We have lived in terror of him for years. I am sad that he is dead, but thank you for having mercy."

"Mercy?" Rock asks, his voice cracking. His eyes mist up and his grip tightens on the gun while his other hand releases hers. "I murdered him. How did I show mercy?"

Baki, despite being so large, is much faster than Lee thinks. Or so the boy finds out when the Sand Jonin slaps his gun across the room and pushes him hard onto the bed. Temari walks closer. "You showed mercy by warning him repeatedly to stop and than waiting until the last possible second to kill him. My brother was a bloodthirsty monster, but even after you killed him, you were sorry for having to do it," the girl says quietly.

"And from what I saw, it was a mercifully painless death," Baki adds, staying between the girl and boy defensively. Lee wisely decides to remain on the bed and keep his mouth shut.

Temari takes a scroll from her robe, handing it to the Leaf ninja. "This is the reward that my father put on Gaara's head. It is more than you'll make as a ninja anytime soon." He takes it hesitantly and stares in shock at the amount written on the scroll.

"I didn't do this for a reward," he says slowly. Lee hands it back to her, "I shouldn't be rewarded for murder."

She hits him hard over the head with the scroll before dropping it on his bed. She shakes her finger at him angrily, "I just said that you did our village a favor and that you only killed him in self defense! You will take this!" He looks up at her, wondering how she manages to look so scary in such a pretty outfit. She continues loudly, "You will be collecting bounties on ninja throughout your entire life. That's what ninja do! You might as well start now!"

"On one condition," he states solemnly.

"What?" she shouts.

He grins and gives her a thumbs up, "I treat you to dinner." She sputters and goes bright red.

"That's not exactly appropriate to ask me so soon after you killed my brother!" she stammers.

His grin not fading, Lee answers brightly, "But it will help ease my conscience, and you said I did you a favor. It's only fair that I treat you to dinner!" Temari looks to Baki for help, but he is busy trying not to laugh at the boy.

She looks around and huffs with her arms crossed, "Fine."

"Good, let's go," he says, hopping to his feet. Eyeing Baki, he continues, "Of course, you are invited as well." Baki raises his visible eyebrow and shakes his head.

The Sand Jonin says slowly, "You sure are an odd one, Leaf Ninja." He turns and walks out the door.

Temari looks uncomfortable as he puts his holsters on his hips. Lee immediately notices and states, "Do not worry, Miss Temari. I swear to protect you with my life." She stares at him for a long moment. '_I don't get this guy,'_ Temari thinks.

"Where to?" Lee asks, holding out his arm.

Temari sighs dramatically and takes it. "I guess whatever is open."

"Great! A guy told me about a very good ramen shop that is open all times of the day and night," he replies as he guides her out of his room.

**Across the Street: **

A red dot disappears from the back of Baki's head as he hops away. Rambo stands from his perch on the roof near the hospital, packing up a sniper rifle. Guy says from behind him, "Interesting weapon. What would you have done if the Sand ninja had attacked our youthful student?"

"I would have blown his brains out," Rambo replies gruffly. "Go away, Greenbean." He hops off the roof and lands with a thud.

He walks away when he hears Guy shouting, "What a youthful attitude, protecting one's student! I will be better or I will—"

"Shut up, Greenbean!" Rambo calls over his shoulder with annoyance.

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